We're A Team
by ATHPluver
Summary: "Hey, we're a team," she told me, placing a hand on my cheek. "I know," I replied. If you live on an ice cube for most of your life, you're going to get used to the cold. Kataang/Tokka/ Maiko. Rated T for suggestive themes and Toph's dirty mouth.
1. Chapter 1

**This is another mindless oneshot that I just felt like doing. BUT I want to give a shout out and a dedication to a certain person: Katsumara, who's usually the first one to review anything. I mean, seriously. It's awesome. This is for you. This takes place a little after my A:TLA book 4 Air. Two spoilers. Kataang people. I own nothing.**

**Ages: **

**Aang-16**

**Katara-18**

**Sokka-19**

**Toph-15**

If you live on an ice cube for most of your life, you're going to get used to the cold. You kind of have to right? Especially if you live on one at the bottom of the world. I love the South Pole. It's a wonderful place to be. Katara and I visit as much as possible from the Air Temple to see Sokka, Toph, Hakoda, Bato, Kanna, and Pakku. I'm not much of a social person there though, Toph and I both. The only reason she lives here is because of Sokka and her love for him. She says it's a lovely place but she spends most of her time in the small Earth hut they built of her next to Hakoda's "palace".

The evening was quiet and the winds were blowing softly. I was standing on a familiar iceberg in the middle of the local Southern Sea. It floated peacefully as the wind picked up. I had flown here by glider, just in case Appa fell asleep. I was in a parka, letting it warm me up slowly. I occasionally gave it a start with my Firebending. I closed my eyes, thinking of the last time I was here. It seemed so long ago.

I opened my eyes when I heard the sound of a bison growl. I looked around slowly and saw Appa flying towards me. He landed softly in the middle of the iceberg and Katara slid off.

"Hi," she said.

I smiled at her in my hello and then turned to stare at the sky. It was a lovely hue of purple and the stars were peeking through to be the first lights of twilight. She stood next to me, also in her parka. I could see her breath, along with mine, swirling in the air and then disappearing. She was looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Just wanted to think."

"You've been quiet. It's been about three weeks since we've come back from the Temple," she said. "You were fine two weeks ago."

"A lot is on my mind," I said honestly, not looking at her.

I could feel her ocean eyes boring into me, trying to figure out everything that was going on in my head. I felt her hand take mine. Hers wasn't covered, since she was a Master Waterbender. Neither was my hand.

"There's something else," she said. "Something you're not telling me."

I finally looked at her. She wasn't smiling as if this were all a game. Her eyes seemed to be full of concern.

"I'm fine," I assured her, giving her my crooked smile.

She didn't seem convinced so she didn't smile back. That made my smile melt away.

"What's up?" she said in a more demanding voice.

I blinked twice. Her eyes seemed to be hypnotizing me to tell her what was wrong. I looked away from her and moved my hand out of her grip, walking away from her. I stood a good ten feet away, looking into the water. I heard her boots crunch the snow as she stepped forward a little. It stopped after three steps.

"Tell me," she said softly.

"It's nothing," I said.

She stepped forward again. Two steps this time.

"Aang," she said. "Please."

I closed my eyes and turned around to face her.

"I just feel out of place," I said. "You know… It's your family time and I feel like I'm intruding."

She raised her eyebrows a little to give her face the expression of concern and what seemed to be guilt. I shrugged.

"It's no big deal," I told her.

"No, it is a big deal," she said, striding up to me.

I was taller than her now so she had to look up to meet my eyes.

"It's noting, honest," I said.

"You're a big part of my family. Not just the Team Avatar family or the family of just you and me. But my blood family too. My Gran loves you. Bato and Dad think you're a hero and they think you're perfect for me," she said, smiling a little. I chuckled shortly.

"Really?" I smirked.

"Yes. Sokka has even come to the conclusion that you and I are perfect together. I'm sure…no I _know_ Mom would've adored you," she went on.

I made sure she wasn't lying. But I knew that was impossible, due to the fact that she never lies, let alone lie to me.

"I- I guess I just didn't want to disrupt you seeing your family. It's about you and them when we're here. Not me and you," I said.

She seemed hurt by that last sentence.

"Oh, Spirits! No! Not like that," I said. "No! I just-."

"I get it," she said coolly, walking away from me.

"Katara, wait," I said, striding in her wake. "Please, I'm sorry."

"I'll just leave you be," she said.

I grabbed her hand and turned her around to face me. She looked away from my eyes and refused to meet them.

"All I want you to do is see your family," I said. "You do know I'd let you fly out here by yourself anytime. I do this for you and your family… our family."

That's when her eyes met mine. I smiled reassuringly and brought her into a hug. She hugged me back tightly and snuggled her head into the fur of my hood. She stood on her tiptoes to get a better grip.

"I love you, okay?" I whispered into her ear. "I always will. I just want you to be happy."

"I am happy," she said. "I'm always happy with you. I just don't want you to be uncomfortable here."

"I'm not uncomfortable," I said. "I just feel like I'm taking you away too often."

She lowered herself and released me. But her arms were still on my shoulders and mine were still at her waist.

"Hey, we're a team," she told me, placing a hand on my cheek.

"I know," I replied.

"Good," she said. "Gran wants you home. She said she has your favorite soup ready."

I smiled. She pressed on, "And our Dad wants you to go on a little bonding trip tomorrow."

That made my eyebrows rise. She closed her eyes and giggled at my surprise.

"Yes, Aang. _Our_ Dad," she said. "Like I said, you're apart of our family too."

I smiled warmly at her. She opened her eyes and ran a hand over my bald head.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," I said.

She stood on her tiptoes again and gave me a kiss on the nose and then a kiss on the lips. I deepened it, not wanting her lips to leave mine. But they did and I sighed. She smiled.

"Don't worry," she said, barely suppressing a grin. "We can do more of that when we cuddle tonight."

"Agreed," I said.

"Let's go."

We walked back over to Appa and got on my buddy's head.

"Yip, yip!" I called.

Appa groaned and took off, soaring back to her home… our home.

**I'm thinking of making this into a multi chapter. Let me know if I should… you know. Just a little one. Maybe ten chapters surrounding their life after the two wars (one of the wars I made). Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I knew it. This would be a multi chap. Now we return to it. I'm on a roll. I own nothing.**

The morning was hazy and grey. But Hakoda thought otherwise. He thought it was the perfect type of day to bond. I agreed to go on a little fishing trip with him. Seeing me do that made Katara glow with happiness. It made me feel great to see her like that because of my agreement.

"Alright, Aang!" Hakoda said warmly. "Let's get going."

"I'll see at lunch!" I called to Katara.

"Okay, bye! Love you," she replied.

"Love you, too," I said as the canoe sailed away.

I saw her smile and walk back to the tribe.

"Just to let you know, Chief Hakoda," I said. "I'm a vegetarian."

"I know that," Hakoda said. "And please, call me Dad."

I grinned. "Right. But why did you want me to fish with you?"

"Because I wanted to just talk," he said, tossing a net into the water as he stopped the canoe in a current free area. "Can't we just talk?"

"I guess. Is there anything I can do help though?"

"Sure, here," he said, handing me a couple of nets and a spear. "Just hold the spear, son. All I really want you to do is toss the nets a little farther."

I blinked when he referred to me as "son" but I tossed them into the sea, using my Airbending and a little Waterbending to get them farther.

"So," Hakoda said. "Katara really likes you."

I had been expecting this from him. Sokka probably ranted about Katara and I at dinner when we were gone. I know Hakoda trusts me and respects me but Sokka had to get the protective personality from his dad. From what Katara tells me, he couldn't have gotten it from Kya.

"Yeah," I said, reviewing in my head the conversation I've been preparing for. "She really does."

Hakoda raised his eyebrows. "You seem to be used to this." He laughed a fatherly laugh. "I know Sokka's a big pain when it comes to his sister. He's just being like that because she's his _little_ sister. Don't worry, Aang. I know I passed those genes down to him but I promise I grew out of it. So will he."

I felt relieved that he said that. I grinned and nodded.

"Anyway," he said, tossing bait into the water, "not to sound pushy but, what are your future plans?"

"Like if I want to marry her?" I suggested. "Or have kids?"

"Any of that," he said casually, tossing another piece of bait closer to the boat. He was more skilled than Sokka at this.

"Well, I was thinking about proposing when we were both out of the teen years. Like, when we're both in our twenties or something," I shrugged, taking a piece of bait and throwing it to a farther net.

"Sounds reasonable," Hakoda nodded. "I do remember you saying you already had a necklace in the process."

"Yeah, I worked on it a while back," I said. "But I'm still on the job."

"It does take a while," he said. "You do know she is marrying age?"

"Uh-huh. Sixteen was the age but I was fourteen by the time she turned sixteen. Seemed kind of strange."

He chuckled. "Yes, I understand."

"So… yeah. I guess I don't want to the only original Airbender too."

"I see. So kids then. Katara loves them."

"I know," I said beaming. "She'll be a great mom. Just like Kya."

He paused and looked at me. A wide smile broke over his face.

"Just like Kya," he said. "You're right."

It was like I had gained a new found respect from him. I guess I had said something important. A key word that he was waiting for. We sat there in silence for a few minutes. He rowed forwards and gathered up the nets. Some were full of fish and others weren't. But he seemed satisfied with his first catch. He tossed the empty ones back in. I helped by moving them forward with Waterbending. I tossed in some bait as well.

"She always seems so happy to be here," he said, breaking the silence. "You must make her feel that way to see us."

"I try," I shrugged. "I just want her to be happy. Seeing you guys is part of that."

"Thanks for that, Aang. I've never seen her so happy with someone," he said, gathering up a net that had a number of fish in it. "Let alone so happy since her mom died. She's got back that beautiful smile because of her happiness."

I smiled and handed him his spear. He plunged it into the water and caught a large fish that avoided the nets.

"Gotcha," he said triumphantly and placed it in the net. "I'm guessing she makes you happy."

"Of course she does," I replied. "Everyday she makes me happy. Just seeing her smile makes my day."

He chuckled. "You sound like me."

"How so?" I asked.

He rowed forward and grabbed an empty net. "I was always this way when Kya and I were together. I loved her so much."

"I bet you did. By the paintings I've seen, Katara looks a lot like her."

"You think so?" Hakoda asked. "It's been so long since I've seen her face."

"Yes. She was beautiful and so is your daughter," I said.

He looked at me, his eyes twinkling.

"I'll tell you what," he said. "I'm going to give you my blessing in advance. When you propose, you don't need to come and ask me. You have my full permission to marry her."

I grinned. "Really?"

"Of course, Aang," he smiled.

"Thanks, Chief Ha- Thanks, Dad," I said.

-0-

We got back a little before lunch. Katara was waiting for us by the dock. When I got off the canoe, a net in my hand, she ran up to me and embraced me with full force.

"Katara!" I gasped. "I need to breathe."

"Sorry," she said, getting off me to hug her Dad.

"Hi, Dad!" she chimed. "Get a lot of fish?"

"Of course we did," he replied, hugging her back. "Aang was tremendous help. Maybe I'll steal him from you every so often to fish."

I laughed. "Right, like that's gonna happen. Katara won't like that."

"You're right," Hakoda grinned as we walked into the larger Tribe. "She'd kick my butt."

Katara smiled as she took my hand. "Probably," she giggled.

He winked at me and I shrugged, smiling broadly. We walked into their larger hut/ "palace" (Sokka like to call it that) and went into the kitchen, where Kanna was cooking. Pakku was teaching a class still and would come back later. Sokka and Toph were relaxing their toes in the fur of the dead animals on the floor. We took our boots off and I sat next to Sokka and Katara sat next to Toph.

"How was your little bonding time with our Dad?" Sokka asked me, looking suspicious.

"Fine," I said honestly. "You're lucky to have such a great Dad. I can't wait until he's my father-in-law."

Hakoda barked out a laugh. "Just you wait, Aang. I'll be a tough Dad."

I grinned and Sokka laughed too.

"It seems like Aang suggested something on the boat," Toph said, smirking.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said.

"Obviously you're gonna propose to Sugar Queen," she said.

"Yeah, but I don't know when," I said, taking off my parka to let them warm hut heat my body.

"It's all a matter of time," Katara said simply, smiling at me.

Kanna strode over and placed a bowl of five-flavored soup in front of me. Sokka and Katara got stewed sea prunes and seal jerky. Toph had the soup and some tiger seal meat. Hakoda sat next to me with a steaming fish. Kanna had soup as well as she sat next to Katara.

"Thanks for this, Kanna," I said.

"It's for the family," she replied simply, dunking her spoon in the soup.

Pakku came in, snow in his hair.

"Starting to snow outside," he said, taking a cooked fish and sitting down at the end. "A slight snow storm but nothing too bad."

"Excellent news," Hakoda said. "Snow storms usually bring in more migrating water animals to the surface. Sokka, you and I are going hunting tomorrow with Bato."

"Aw, yeah!" Sokka grinned, punching the air.

Katara rolled her eyes and continued to eat her sea prunes. Toph smirked and chewed on the tiger seal meat. I grimaced and looked away from her.

Pakku laughed at my expression. "I keep forgetting you're not such a meat lover."

I looked at him with a smile. "Nope, not really."

"You do know what that means right?" Toph asked.

"What's that?" Hakoda said.

"Neither will his little cloud babies," Toph sniggered.

Katara and I looked at each other and then quickly away, our faces red. I wanted to make my mind's eye blind from the images that sped through my head. I could tell Katara was thinking the same thing. Sokka and Hakoda were laughing, so was Toph.

"Please," Katara begged. "Let's talk about this when I'm age appropriate."

"You do know many girls is the Northern Tribe your age are raising families," Pakku chuckled.

"Okay, just stop!" I said, burying my face in my hands.

Hakoda roared with laughter and clapped me hard on the shoulder. I knew my entire head was on fire because I was so red.

"Off that subject," Pakku said, still chuckling. "I need to ask my former students a question."

Katara and I looked at Pakku. He took in a deep breath. "You see, my students now are just a little different. Some are still used to the Northern customs they grew up with. They're new, just moved from our sister tribe. The older boys especially. They're not big fans of the three girls in my class."

We glanced at each other, thinking about the last time a certain Waterbender was sexist. We nodded and promised we'd help first thing in the morning. Pakku nodded his thanks and excused himself for bed. Toph stretched and dragged Sokka away and into the connection to their rock hut to sleep. Kanna bid us goodnight. It was just Katara, Hakoda, and I. We were enjoying the after dinner tea and relaxed, stretching our legs in the fur. I yawned.

"I guess I should head off too," I said lazily. "If we're getting up at dawn."

"Yeah," Katara agreed. "'Night, Dad."

"Goodnight, Katara. 'Night, Aang," he said.

"'Night, Dad," I said.

Katara looked at me in surprise as we walked out of the kitchen. She took my hand and smirked.

"'Dad'?" she giggled.

"He asked me to call him that," I told her.

"I'm glad," she said.

We strode into our room, Katara closing the door behind us. I pulled off my shirt and tossed it over the changing screen. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door to get ready for sleep. I changed into my sleeping pants and made sure my Waterbending stances were up to date. She walked in wearing the silk nightgown.

"What're you doing?" she asked, tossing a comb on the bed. She sat down to undo her hair loops.

"Making sure the Avatars won't be ashamed of my minimum practice. Or make sure that their not humiliated in front of a bunch a kids," I replied, taking a relaxed stance.

"Oh, right," she smirked. "Like the kids will care if you suck."

"They will," I said. "Be prepared for the old cockiness of Northern Water Tribe boys."

She began to comb her hair. "Ooh. I'm _so_ scared," she said sarcastically, rolling her beautiful eyes.

I smiled and jumped into bed. Katara put the comb on the table and got in too. She turned her body to face me. I was on my back. I turned my head to look at her. She was smiling sleepily.

"I never thought I'd have to get up at dawn ever again," she said.

"Me neither," I said.

I turned my body to face her. She shrugged.

"Oh well, right?" she said.

"Yep," I said.

We shared a little, lazy kiss before drifting off to sleep.

-0-

It was hard getting up in the morning. I fell off the bed and, with a groan, I got up. We both dressed slowly and walked to the training area. New fallen snow was being crushed under our boots. We made it to Master Pakku and bowed respectively. Pakku smiled at us and gave us some tea.

"Drink up," he said. "It's the morning tea that really wakes you up."

We drank in slowly, savoring the taste and warmth.

"Thanks," Katara said. "I feel much better."

"Me too," I said.

"Ah! Here come our students," Pakku said happily.

We turned to see about seven kids. Three girls, four boys. They all had brown hair. Two boys and a girl had grey eyes. One girl had brown eyes. The other three had blue eyes.

The strode over to Master Pakku and stood in a single file line, facing him. They bowed and the three of us bowed back.

"Hello and good morning," Pakku said. "These two with me are my former students. This is Master Katara and Avatar Aang."

I knew the kids would be extremely surprised when they heard my name.

"Why are they here?" a little girl asked.

"They're here to help. Introduce yourselves," Pakku said.

A girl with the grey eyes, who seemed to be the second oldest, was about to speak. But a boy older than her with blue eyes stepped forward, smirking.

"I'm Shen," he boasted. "I'm thirteen years old, turning fourteen."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm Rei. I'm thirteen years old."

A grey-eyed boy stepped up. "I'm Nao! I'm ten!"

The other grey-eyed boy stepped forward next to him. "I'm Naoki! I'm also ten!"

"We're twins!" they said together.

"You can tell us apart by our parkas," assured Nao.

The brown-eyed girl stepped forward. "I'm Kyoko. I'm eight."

A blue-eyed boy stepped up. "I'm Manchu." He took the other little girl with him. "And this is Keiko. My little sister. I'm eleven and she's seven."

The last boy walked up and grinned. "I'm Kong. I'm nine."

So it was Shen, Rei, Nao and Naoki, Kyoko, Manchu, Keiko, and Kong. We smiled at them and nodded.

"So, what help are they giving us?" asked Rei.

"To show some of us that girls are perfectly capable of being Masters," Pakku said.

Shen snorted. Kong and Nao joined him. Katara laughed too, which surprised the others so they stopped laughing.

"Really?" Katara said. "You think that girls aren't capable?"

"Well, no," Shen said. "They're girls."

Katara smirked.

"Aang, I challenge you," she said to me.

"That's kind of destroying the point. Avatar versus-," I began.

"Master," she finished. "I'm still tougher than you."

I looked at her and then grinned.

"You're on!" I agreed.


End file.
